Former Liverpool and England international John Barnes believes ethnic minorities would not have been surprised by the abuse suffered by Raheem Sterling as racism remains “prevalent” in British society.

Former Liverpool and England international John Barnes believes ethnic minorities would not have been surprised by the abuse suffered by Raheem Sterling as racism remains “prevalent” in British society.

Manchester City forward Sterling was subject to alleged racial abuse during Saturday’s Premier League game at Chelsea.

Barnes, capped 79 times by his country, was the victim of persistent racism during his playing days, including monkey chants and having bananas thrown at him.

The 55-year-old feels prejudice and discrimination extend far beyond football and stems from “hundreds of years of indoctrination”.

Barnes experienced racism from the terraces on a regular basis during his playing career (PA Archive)

“When people talk about, ‘Oh isn’t that terrible what happened to Raheem Sterling?’, you speak to black people in the inner cities and they say ‘this is what we go through every single day’,” Barnes told BBC One’s Breakfast programme.

“It’s not a surprise to us. It’s prevalent in society as you go into the inner cities and see how disenfranchised and what a lack of opportunities there are for members of ethnic minorities.

“So why should football be any different?

“Society has to change. The only way we can change racism is if we change the perception of the average black person in the street.

“It’s a very long-term process, we’re talking about hundreds of years of indoctrination ensuring that there are certain groups of people who are more worthy than others.”

A group of Chelsea supporters were shown screaming abuse at Sterling – alleged to be racist in nature – as he retrieved the ball from behind the goal at Stamford Bridge, with the incident shared widely on social media.

[2/2] "We strongly condemn all forms of discrimination and encourage all fans and participants who believe that they have been the subject of, or witness to, discriminatory abuse to report it through the appropriate channels: The FA, our County FAs or our partners Kick It Out."

Chelsea and the Metropolitan Police are investigating the claims, while the Football Association has said it will also work with the clubs and other authorities to ensure the matter is dealt with appropriately.

The 24-year-old Sterling subsequently accused the British media of helping to “fuel racism” via their portrayal of young, black footballers.

Chelsea fan Nathan Lewis, who is black, was standing a few seats away from the men abusing Sterling.

Although Lewis did not hear any racism during the match, he was shocked by the television footage, describing it as “quite scary”.

“A lot of people have been questioning me and my integrity as to why I didn’t get involved, why I didn’t react. But I didn’t actually hear anything racial from any section of the crowd, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen,” he told ITV’s Good Morning Britain programme.

Nathan Lewis was standing three feet away from the Chelsea fans who racially abused Raheem Sterling on field. He responds to questions about why he didn't intervene at the time. pic.twitter.com/ZskxqAniNp